


ink

by verytiredleo



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Dom Louis, Eventual Smut, Gay Louis Tomlinson, M/M, Painplay, Pansexual Harry Styles, Sub Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 09:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17423441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verytiredleo/pseuds/verytiredleo
Summary: louis is a tattoo artist and harry comes to him to get a tattoo. and, well, harry has a pain kink. you can probably imagine what transpires from there.inspired by freddieismyqueen's most recent larry crack!vid.





	ink

**Author's Note:**

> watch the video (starting at the specific part) that inspired this fanfic here: https://youtu.be/F9HraWGyKvM?t=2m21s

Being a tattoo artist was not Louis’ idea of a dream job, in any sense of the word. But he needed the money. And he needed it desperately. He was living on his own, barely scraping by as it was. It had been this way ever since his mom passed away when he was 15. He had gone from job to job, trying to make money to keep his family going. It was one of the most stressful things a 15 year old could ever have to go through. Louis’ dream was to become a singer, but it was blatantly clear that that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. If ever. That never stopped the man from writing or anything like that. No, nothing would stop Louis from pursuing his passion. 

And the clients Louis worked on regularly were _shady_. Shady might even be an understatement. Some of them were clearly drug dealers and had been through some shit in their life. But that really wasn’t any of his business, considering that Louis himself was occasionally a weed smoker. It was a bad habit and he was trying to stop, he really was. But he just kept coming back for more. It was a distraction from the mess that was his life, more than anything else. And he needed that distraction. 

Most of Louis’ clients were regulars. They liked the work he did, so they returned. He knew their names and their personalities. But today he had a new client. Somebody by the name of Harry Styles. Louis couldn’t help but look at that name with a certain amount of scrutiny. Anyone with the last name _‘Styles’_ had to be one of those rich, stuck-up guys. But it would be foolish of Louis to assume things about someone he had just met, so he pushed away his doubts. He knew nothing about this guy.

And Harry Styles did surprise Louis. The man already had several tattoos, up and down his arms. He had messy long brown hair that came down past his shoulders. He was, more or less, the token gay man. Glittery clothing, painted nails, and that walk. Everything about him screamed gay. And Louis should know, being a gay man himself. He made sure to avoid all of the stereotypes that were associated with being gay. Hell, if anything, he was trying to be the token ‘straight boy’, if nothing else. It disgusted him, trying to be something he wasn’t, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Homophobia was running rampant in his little town of Doncaster. Yet, there were men like this Harry Styles walking around, not giving a single fuck about what people thought.

“Whatcha want, Styles?” Louis asked, giving the tall man a once-over when he sat in the chair. He never bothered with formal greetings. Not even with his regulars. With his regulars, he’d give them a pat on the back or a high five, something casual like that. But Harry wasn’t a regular and most likely wouldn’t be returning. He didn’t look like a resident of Doncaster. 

Harry handed Louis a small sheet of paper, with a bunch of symbols you couldn’t possibly get Louis to decipher even if you paid him a million bucks. “It’s the name ‘Gemma’ in Hebrew.” Harry elaborated, as if that explained everything.

Louis opened his mouth to question further, but he ultimately decided against it and shrugged. “On your shoulder, here?” when Harry nodded, he drew a basic outline of the tattoo with pen, humming along to an Arctic Monkeys song playing in his head. “So, who’s Gemma? A girlfriend?” he asked.

“Girlfriend? No, Gemma’s my sister.” Harry chuckled softly, brushing some of his hair out of his face. Maybe Louis had gotten completely the wrong idea about Harry. Maybe he wasn’t gay after all. He didn’t seem against the idea of a girlfriend, as most gay men usually were, Louis being a prime example. The thought of having a romantic relationship with a girl was repulsive to him. “I like your hair, by the way.” Harry added.

Louis busied himself with finishing the outline and grabbing out the necessary tools to hide his blush, chewing on his lower lip. He wasn’t used to compliments. “Thank you. I don’t hear that often.” He admitted, beginning to trace the outline with ink, sparing glances to Harry. But the man has had plenty of tattoos and was completely relaxed. 

“Really? You really should. The red suits you.” Harry said, making Louis’ blush darken exponentially. Yeah, he really wasn’t used to compliments of any kind. Was Harry _flirting_ with him? He never knew. It had to be just friendly, right? A guy could compliment another guy without it being flirting, especially when one of them was straight. But Harry was most definitely not straight. 

“You’re just saying that.” Louis shook his head, picking up his phone. “Mind if I play some music? Do you like Queen?” 

“I love Queen. Feel free.” Harry smiled, and Louis went into his Spotify, going to his Queen playing and hitting shuffle, turning the volume up and putting it on his table with the tools. “Louis, are you gay?”

The words made Louis pause immediately, blinking several times. How could Harry possibly have known? He made himself as straight as he could on purpose. “I-I don’t- what?” he stuttered, witnessing Harry smirking a few inches away. “How did you know?”

“I just know.” Harry shrugged nonchalantly. “Gaydar.” 

“Are you gay?” Louis shot back.

“Nah. I don’t like to label myself. But if I had to give myself a label, I’d say pansexual. I don’t fall in love based on gender, only personality.” Harry explained. “Bohemian Rhapsody, hell yeah.” he began to sing along with no care in the world.

Once Louis had gotten over the shock of Harry figuring out that he was gay, he was right back to tattooing the man. The rest of the session was relatively quiet, the two of them occasionally singing along to some Queen song. “Alright, you’re done. I assume you know the rules of a tattoo, so I don’t need to do any explaining.” Louis said, wiping down the ink as best as he could.

Harry paid for the tattoo and left, giving Louis a generous tip. And Louis found himself missing the man. But he wouldn't be returning, he knew that much for sure.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos give me validation. plus you'll get a virtual cookie.


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